The Not So Distant Future
by mcmartinis
Summary: ((AU)) In the not so distant future Robots become integrated into Human lives. They cook. They clean. They work the jobs Humans no longer wish to. They do not feel love or pain or loss. & most of all they do not appear Human. Well, all, except One.
1. Chapter 1

Isaac wipes hastily at the tears running down his face. Sniffs. Blows out a breath and takes Cora's hand again. She mumbles something unintelligible in her sleep, tenses up. He lets go of her hand, briefly touching her forehead.

Her cold translucent skin practically matches the Hospital's bed sheets but Isaac doesn't call out for a nurse. Instead he takes Cora's hand - for the third time- and sighs, his shoulders sagging, when her body relaxes.

His blue eyes steadily search her face.

Seeing her like this, so completely helpless and in pain- sends a violent pang of something through his body so Isaac focuses only on holding her hand. On not letting go. He squeezes it lightly and seconds later she startles awake. Cora breathes as if every breath will be her last, smiles over at Isaac who squeezes her hand a little tighter.

"I'm sorry for waking you. You've got a couple of hours left. Go back to sleep." Isaac whispers, his voice breaking near the end of it.

"I love you." Cora murmurs, her smile bigger. Isaac nods, biting his bottom lip.

"You know how much I love you..right?" Cora says softly, her eyebrows furrowed. Isaac nods again, blinking away the tears welling up in his eyes.

"No matter what happens tonight..I want you to always remember that..okay?" Cora continues and Isaac nods, clenching his teeth.

"And just in case I don't.." Cora clears her throat "..just in case I don't make it out of the surgery..I want you to know that I got you that th-"

Isaac shakes his head, holds her hand with both of his own now. "-Don't talk like that okay?! You are..going to make it back!"

Cora sighs giving him a pointed look and Isaac holds her hand tighter.

"_Listen to me_..You're going to make it back and tomorrow morning when this is all over we'll laugh about all this..a-and we'll go home and drink those..disgusting Italian Margaritas you love so much-"

Cora laughs weakly and Isaac grins "-and we'll celebrate..and everything will go back to normal okay?" Cora starts to say something else but Isaac gives her a pleading look, says

"Okay?!"

She exhales slowly then nods. "Okay." She says. Smiles after but her smile sends the same pang from earlier through him, once more.

* * *

"It's time." A -blonde- Nurse softly says, hours later, standing in front of what appears to be a surgical team. Isaac sits up straighter in his chair, glancing up at her.

"Alright." He replies, stands up to stretch then turns back to Cora, cradling her face in his hands. "Cora ?"

She opens her eyes briefly "Hm?"

"It's time." He says and Cora nods slowly, sitting up straighter in the Hospital bed.

Isaac kisses her quick on the lips and then the forehead. Murmurs "I love you." then steps back as the surgical team begins to wheel her out of the room. The Nurse, the last to leave, gives Isaac a nod and a small smile. Isaac nods back.

"It wouldn't be a possibility for me to..stay with her while she has the surgery..would it?" He asks in a last ditch effort to give Cora something familiar to hold onto.

"No. That would not be a possibility Sir. I'm sorry." She replies-her voice solemn.

"It's okay." Isaac says smiling weakly. He clears his throat and watches The Nurse exit the room.

Isaac runs a shaky hand through his hair, sags back into his chair and reluctantly shuts his eyes.

* * *

"Mr. Lahey?"

"Mr. Lahey..?"

"_Mr. Lahey?" _

Isaac opens his eyes to find a woman -a brunette- in scrubs, standing beside him. He blinks, yawns and sits up in his chair to face her. "Yes?"

"Mr. Lahey..I'm the Doctor that operated on your fiancé."

Isaac smiles, fatigue slowly seeping out of his body. "How is she?"

"She did not..survive."

Isaac stands slowly, The Doctor steps back.

"We were able to successfully complete the mastectomy and restore blood flow to the heart with the operation.." The Doctor clears her throat.

"..but she developed a lethal arrhythmia and we were..unable to resuscitate her." The Doctor swallows and Isaac blinks.

"Um..I-I'm sorry..a what?" He says, his voice hoarse.

"Mr. Lahey..I'm so sorry for your loss." The Doctor says, her voice breaking then she quickly leaves.

Isaac stares after her with wide reddening eyes then in a daze collapses into his chair.

The tears, The rage-that comes much later. But the emptiness, the utter and complete loneliness, arrives almost immediately.  
And the world to Isaac, in that moment becomes a small desolate, hopeless place.

* * *

Three days later Isaac attends Cora's funeral.

Only a few of her friends -and some of her family- make an appearance. Afterwards at their (his..now) apartment they each awkwardly hug him, give him their condolences, hand him various plates of food and leave. No one comes to visit after that. No one calls. And for three weeks straight he doesn't interact with anyone or anything. Stays inside their (his) tiny one bedroom apartment: occasionally crying, watching TV, eating and praying for death.

On the fourth week -a Friday- when Isaac's in the living room watching Cora's favorite show on their (his) couch, in just his boxers, he hears a knock at the door.

He glances over at the door briefly then focuses back on the TV, turning it up with his remote. Eventually he hears another knock at the door. Then another and another and another and by the 57th knock Isaac gets up in a huff, unlocks the door, yanks it open and all but yells

_"What?!" _Irritation coming off of him in waves.

The Robot's eyes emit a red light scanning over his own briefly before returning to a dull gray. "I-saac La-hey. You have a pack-age." It says in a monotonous female voice.

"From who?!" Isaac asks scratching his left arm with his right hand.

"Co-ra Ha-le." It replies and Isaac quickly shakes his head. "No..No that's impossible. Cora Hale is _dead_."

"This pack-age was sent ap-prox-imately one...month..ago. We are so-rry for the de-lay." It says.

Isaac hears a click and its mouth curves up into a smile. It tilts its head slightly to the side "Will you ac-cept this pack-age?"

Isaac rolls his eyes "_Yeah_. Whatever." He says impatiently.

It walks out of view for a moment to the right, comes back twelve seconds later holding a life size box with green wrapping paper all around it.

"Jesus Christ!" Isaac mumbles under his breath, his eyes widening.

"Please move a-side."

"What the hell _is_ that?" He says after a moment, squinting.

"Please move a-side." It repeats and Isaac exhales sliding out of the way.

It walks in, places the life size box a foot away from the couch, walks out, turns to face him again and stands at the open door expectantly.

"Anything else?" Isaac asks, sliding back over to the door. It opens its mouth wide and a large dry piece of paper comes out of it.

Isaac makes a face and it catches the paper before it falls, hands it to him and bounds away down the hall. Isaac steps back closing the door with his foot, locks the door and glances idly at the piece of paper in his hand. He maneuvers around the box, plops on the couch and begins to read.

_Dear Isaac, _

_If you're reading this it means I'm dead. And I'm sorry. _  
_I'm sorry we didn't get to grow old together like we wanted, or go to Fiji for our honeymoon, or get married in that really kickass chapel we loved_

Isaac chuckles, rubs his nose and continues reading.

_but most of all I'm sorry I couldn't take you with me. _

_You're probably thinking of sulking around the apartment right now and I'm here to tell you Don't! _  
_It's not healthy and it won't bring me back. What you **should** do though is, go out and make some friends and eventually **when you're ready **fall in love with someone that makes you happy, someone that reminds you the world isn't as shitty a place as you make it out to be._

_But since I know you're not going to do any of that without my help, I've decided to give you a little push in the right direction. Happy Anniversary Babe. I love you._

_Sincerely, Cora._

_P.S I left you a little message inside the package. _  
_To turn it on and hear it, pull off its tag in the back and say "Alpha. Comet. Tenor. Implore. Violet. Altruism. Thyme. Earnest. Scorch. Collect. Omega. Tenacious. Tether."_

_P.P.S This is a huge responsibility Isaac so don't do this unless you're fully prepared to care for and watch over this gift._

_P.P.P.S And whatever you do, **do not **return this gift to the Harris&Finstock Cybertronics Corporation, the maker of this gift no longer works there and if you want to return it she would appreciate it if you emailed her at Lyd1aMart!n, at, yahoo dot com , subject title "TT1 Malfunction"_

Isaac flips the letter over, glancing halfheartedly at the blank side then flips it back to the front. He places it next to him on the couch, turns off the TV and stares at the box.  
Eventually he falls asleep.

* * *

A week passes before he even goes near the box but on the eighth day -a Friday- after staring at it for a long time, Isaac finds a knife and a large pair of black scissors and goes to town on it. Soon the box breaks apart but Cora's "gift" remains standing.

"Cora..what the f-" Isaac mumbles through his teeth, walking in circles around what looks like an upright comatose patient wearing a Blue and Red plaid shirt and denim jeans.

Isaac runs a hand over his face stopping at his mouth and abruptly notices something sticking out of the "gift's" head.

"No fucking way." He says shuffling closer, his eyes wide as he fiddles with the 5C0-TT1 tag.

"No fucking way!" He repeats louder circling the "gift" again. Isaac stops suddenly, standing in front of it.

Hesitantly reaches out to graze his fingers over the eyebrows, the closed eyes, the nose, the lips, the ears, the chin, the neck but it doesn't move at all. Isaac stumbles back, fear and awe twisting inside of him.

"What the hell _are_ you?" He asks aloud quietly. Then a memory from many months ago flashes through his head.

* * *

"I don't need any friends. I have you." Isaac said, kissing Cora's forehead briefly, his arms loose around her waist.

"Well..what if I'm not enough?" Cora asked, earnestly looking up at him. Isaac smirked. "You'll always be enough."

Cora huffed out a breath at that, frowned. "What if I leave?"

Isaac quirked his eyebrows "Then..I'll come with you."

Cora's frown deepened. "What if I leave to somewhere _I can't take you?"_

Isaac gave her a pointed look.

"I mean..what if I die before you? What will you do then?"

Isaac grinned "I guess..I'll just be lost."

Cora's eyes welled up with tears. "I don't want you to be lost Isaac! I want you to be _happy_! With or without me!"

Isaac's eyes widened and he cupped Cora's face in his hands. "Hey..Hey-" He murmured "What's going on with you? You seem upset..well.._more so than usual_."

She chuckled, pushed lightly at him then sniffed. Isaac smirked.

"Listen-" Cora said as she gripped the bottom of his pajama shirt.

"-My friend Boyd knows a guy who knows a girl who's building this new Robot and she needs someone to test it out on before she releases it to the public.."

Isaac sighed. "Cora-"

"-And I know you're not a huge fan of _people_ so maybe you could just..start out with this Robot and go from there."

Isaac rolled his eyes. "Cora..that doesn't even sound _safe_ let alone sane. I mean..you really want to me to have a machine as my friend? Are you that desperate for me to make friends?"

Cora bit her bottom lip, briefly nodded

"Maybe it'll help you interact better with people..learn to trust some..I don't know it was just an idea." She said then edged stiffly out of his arms and exited the room.

"Cora.." He called out. Heard the bedroom door slam in response.

* * *

Isaac blinks out of the memory staring with new eyes at the "gift". He hangs his head.

"Cora Cora Cora.." He murmurs dejectedly then swallows, raising his head.

With a deep exhale he snatches the letter off the couch, walks closer to the "gift", yanks the 5C0-TT1 tag out and says

"Okay..I'm only doing this to hear the message Cora left for me but after that I'm turning you off and taking you back to wherever the hell you came from."

Isaac nods to himself, breathes, glances at the letter and reads aloud "Alpha. Comet. Tenor. Implore. Violet. Altruism. Thyme. Earnest. Scorch. Collect. Omega. Tenacious. Tether."

As soon as the last syllable of the last word leaves his lips the "gift's" eyes open. At first, amber with gold highlights but after a few blinks they fade to a deep unnaturally warm brown. Isaac stares at It in silence, his mouth agape. It stares back. Then

"You're called 5C0-TT1 right?" Isaac asks, slight urgency in his tone. "Yes." It says, its voice nearly human but somehow not quite there yet. It hugs him abruptly and Isaac freezes.

"But you can call me Scott if that makes you feel more comfortable."

It pulls away, its hands on Isaac's shoulders, searching Isaac's eyes. Then grins and Isaac quietly gasps. He reaches out with his index finger to poke at its dimples. Its grin widens.

"You feel so...real." Isaac murmurs leaning in closer to examine It. It raises its eyebrows leaning back slightly

"And you're unafraid of sharing personal space with strangers. A little odd for your kind but..duly noted."

Isaac blinks taking a step back, Its hands fall easily off his shoulders. "I'm sorry..I don't usually act this way around stra-Robots but you're..you look so.." Isaac shakes his head, sighs.

"Nevermind. I don't really care. I just want to hear the message Cora left for me."

"Co-ra?" It says softly a few times, sounding out the name. "That's an interesting name." It glances around the apartment.

"I am not familiar with it. Therefore we have not befriended each other yet-" It looks back at Isaac, smiles "-Therefore I do not have a message from Cora for you..Friend."

"What did you just call me?" Isaac asks with a frown.

"Friend." It replies simply.

"Look 5C0-TT1..I'm _not_ your friend. I just want to know what message Cora left for me okay?"

"I'm sorry. Was I unclear before when I said 14.7 seconds ago that I did not have a message from Cora for you? Would you like me to repeat it louder?..Friend."

Isaac breathes out a brief laugh, scratching at his nose then grabs a tight hold of Its shirt with both of his hands "I'm not in the mood to play games! Just give me the message!"

It glances at Isaac's eyes curiously, then his mouth and back to his eyes again. "You seem upset. Was it something I said Friend?"

Isaac huffs out a breath, shoving It away. "Just forget it." He says quietly, walks over to the couch and collapses into it.

It walks over to the couch three seconds later, sits down to the left of Isaac, Its warm arm pressing softly into his own.

"Technically since we have not been formally introduced..I should not call you Friend."

It glances over at him outstretching its left hand. When Isaac makes a face, reluctantly shaking its hand It says "Hello. I'm 5C0-TT1 or Scott if you would prefer. What is your name?"

Isaac sighs. "..Isaac..Lahey."

It smiles and Isaac swallows, dropping its hand immediately before glancing away.

"I-saac La-hey." It repeats a few times sounding it out. Isaac glances back at It with a grin. "You gonna do that every time you hear a name?"

"Probably. Does it bother you..Isaac?"

Isaac shrugs. "No..I don't know. It's just a little.." Isaac breathes out shifting slightly to the right, away from its warmth. "..weird." He says glancing down at his boxers then over at It.

He stands abruptly "Um..I have..to..go..put on some clothes. I'll be right back."

"Are you going out?" It says and Isaac stills, glances down at It "..No." Isaac starts to walk towards the bedroom but It says "Then why are you getting dressed?"

Isaac sighs turning around to face It. "Because I want to! Okay?"

It grins "Okay."

Isaac shakes his head exiting the living room.

When He comes back half an hour later dressed in the shirt and jeans Cora bought him for Christmas, he can hear the TV blaring. Isaac settles down next to It.

"What are you watching?"

"I believe it's called The Notebook." It says, Its eyes focused on the TV. Isaac chuckles "Why are you watching that?"

It licks Its lips absentmindedly, Its eyes never leaving the TV "Because you were gone for half an hour and I was.."

It stops, tilting its head to the side, squints then pauses the movie with the remote, turns to Isaac "Did you see that?"

"What?" Isaac asks distractedly.

"The character Noah kissed the character Allie and then squeezed her breasts."

Isaac's eyebrows shoot up. It places its hands on Isaac's chest squeezing "Like that." It says letting its hands retreat back to its lap "Why would he do that?"

Isaac coughs suddenly, clears his throat, scratches his head then runs a hand haphazardly through his hair.

"Um..I don't know. I guess because he really..really loves her."

It seems unsatisfied with his answer.

"But if you really love someone shouldn't you..not want to hurt them?"

"He wasn't hurting her..he was just...showing her how..much he loved her-" Isaac sighs "-Can we stop talking about this now?"

It smiles "Alright. What would you like to talk about?"

Isaac shrugs "Anything but The Notebook."

It smiles again and Isaac smiles back. "Alright. Who is the woman in all the pictures with you..around the apartment?"

Isaac glances away "She's my..she _was_ my fiancé."

It smiles again "Where is she now?"

"Dead." Isaac says flatly, avoiding Its eyes.

"I'm sorry. It must have been very painful to lose her." Isaac nods "When did she die?"

"About a month ago." Isaac begins, starts to say something else but then It envelops him in a tight hug. "Why do you keep doing that?" Isaac murmurs but doesn't pull away.

It stops. Leans back placing Its hands on his shoulders. Smiles.

"The first time I hugged you it was because I was excited to meet you..and the hug I just gave you now was because I wanted to make you feel better."

Isaac grins "Is all that in your programming?"

"..Yes" It says a few seconds too late and something in Its expression gives Isaac pause.

He furrows his eyebrows "Did you..did you _lie_ just now?"

Its hands return to its lap and It turns to face the TV once more "No." It says pressing play on the remote control.  
Isaac frowns briefly at It, settles into the couch and eventually focuses on the TV.


	2. Chapter 2

Isaac makes it all the way to _The Notebook's _(and how he's even made it _that far_ is beyond him-whenever he used to watch it with Cora he'd excuse himself before the plot of the movie could really be established) "It still isn't over!" _rain_ scene.

Then his eyelids begin to droop.

The moment Isaac's head falls against Its (warm) shoulder he abruptly stands. Yawns. Unaware of how he'd started on one end of the couch- further away from It - and ended up on another very _very_ different- closer in proximity to It - end of the couch.

"Well... I've got a bi-_huge_.." Isaac nods to himself "-_huge_ day tomorrow so I'm.. gonna hit the hay."

He begins the endless trek to his bedroom- his legs made of solid stone -when he hears the movie pause behind him. Isaac turns around, his blue eyes skipping over the TV, landing precariously on It.

"Why did you pause the movie?"

It looks up at him curiously, Its lips slightly parted. Isaac rubs at his eyes.

"Hello?" He breathes out once the silence encompassing the room becomes an unwanted visitor.

"Hello?" Isaac repeats. He shuffles closer, waving a hand in front of Its face, exasperation already beginning to overtake him.

Mild concern quickly replaces his exasperation when It continues to respond with nothing but silence. His hand unconsciously finds its way over to Its shoulder, squeezing at it lightly. He peers closer, his eyebrows curved downward.

"Hey... " Isaac murmurs, surveying Its face "..Earth to Scott.."

Its brown eyes shut immediately at that.  
When they open again, minutes later, there's something..different about them. Something Isaac can't place. Isaac steps back, standing up straight.

"Sorry-" Scott begins. His voice no longer _nearly_ human now, but _exactly_ human. Eerily so.

Scott grins sheepishly. Rubs the back of his neck with his right hand (yet another inherently human thing added onto the list of inherently human things that Isaac is now mentally keeping track of) and the sight of it sends a spike of warmth through Isaac's body.

"-What was your question?"

Scott's eyebrows shoot upward, his hand returning to his lap when Isaac doesn't respond. Isaac blinks.

"I... I ugh... I _asked_ you why you paused the movie."

"Right... " Scott replies, seemingly distracted. Then smirks "I paused the movie because I wanted to ask you a question."

"Okay.. " Isaac steps back again, his legs bumping into the coffee table near the TV "..but first can I ask _you_ a question?"

Scott nods briefly "Yeah?"

Isaac motions halfheartedly at his own face "What happened to your... voice.. and your eyes?"

Scott pales "What's wrong with them?!"  
_  
_Isaac shrugs, his eyes widening "_Nothing_... I don't.. I don't know they just look.. " Isaac sighs when Scott's forehead begins to wrinkle "_Nevermind._ What was your question?"

Scott brightens at that "I wanted to ask you what hay you were hitting."

Isaac blinks. His forehead wrinkling then relaxing as he chuckles. Fatigue spreads through him like a poison. He runs a damp hand through his hair

"It's just an expression.. It means I'm going to sleep."

"You don't look tired."

Isaac exhales. Shakes his head. Shrugs "Looks can be deceiving."

"I guess so." Scott says plainly.

Isaac stumbles into the coffee table again as he begins to walk away but then

"Can I go to sleep with you?"

Isaac spins back around "_What?!"_

"Can I go to-"

"-I heard you the first time." Isaac replies, sliding a hand over his clean shaven face.

Scott blinks "Alright. So can I?"

"_No!_.. Wait.. you _sleep?"_

Scott frowns briefly "Yes?.. Yes I think so."

Isaac's shoulders sag "Well.. sleep on the couch then."

"Why?!" Scott says, standing up quickly "I thought we were friends."

A quiet laugh escapes Isaac's mouth "Ugh.. "

"Don't friends.. hang out with each other all the time?" Scott asks walking over to Isaac. Isaac takes a- clumsy - step back. Scott follows.

"Yeah.. " Isaac breathes out eventually " ..Friends do.._do_ that but not when they're unconscious!"

"Oh." Scott says. Hugs Isaac tightly and Isaac stills, his eyes wide and his mouth open.

When Scott releases him seconds later and says "Well.. Goodnight then." Isaac clears his throat- avoiding Scott's eyes -mutters "Goodnight." and bolts out of the living room.

Before he shuts his bedroom door and undresses, Isaac hears the TV blare on again.

* * *

Isaac tosses and turns in his sleep. Abruptly feels something warm press softly against his bare chest.  
Instantly he relaxes. Fades deeper into sleep with a slow steady exhale.

* * *

Isaac sighs deeply, relaxing into his pillow, his eyes closed as he runs a hand through warm soft hair. Warm soft _short_ hair. He frowns smirking, his eyes still closed.

Murmurs "Cora.. why did you cut your hair?" His voice still groggy from sleep.

Suddenly Isaac's hand freezes. He swallows. Squints his blue eyes slowly open. Finds Scott's head facing away from him but pressed to his chest while the rest of Scott's- naked - body stretches loosely over the left side of the bed.

A flush creeps up Isaac's cheeks when he catches a sideways glimpse of Scott's ass. Isaac squeezes his eyes shut, slapping his right hand over them as he groans out

"_What the fuck?!"_

He breathes quietly, slides his hand over the rest of his face and opens his eyes. Isaac frowns. Eases his right leg out of the bed and onto the floor. Then his left leg. Then his right arm and suddenly tumbles face first out of the bed.

When he quietly stands moments later Scott is sitting upright on the bed with his legs crossed. A small smile spreading across his face as he stares up at Isaac.  
Isaac's breath catches when he spots something between Scott's legs.

Isaac stretches his hand out, placing it strategically in the air until the only thing in his line of sight is Scott from the waist up.

"Why?!" He bursts out after a few seconds of silence.

Scott blinks, the smile never leaving his face "Why what?"

Isaac breathes out a wisp of air. Shrugs "I have so many to ask that I don't even know where to start!"

He ignores the high pitch of his voice. Heaves breaths in and out until his heart beat levels. Isaac rubs his nose.

"Ugh.. Why are you in my room?!" He breathes out a quick laugh "Why are you naked?!.. Why do you have that _thing_?!" Isaac says shrilly, pointing below Scott's waist.

Then positions his hand in the air again until everything below Scott's waist is out of sight. He breathes and Scott blinks.

"I finished The Notebook.. and when I turned the TV off.. I could hear your heart beating." Scott replies simply. He slides off the bed and stands in front of Isaac who flinches back.

"I don't have one like yours.. and yours beat _so fast_ I had to hear it up close. I figured it would be better that way.. and it was." Scott grins, glances over Isaac's body

"And I don't have those-" Scott says, tugging lightly at the waistband of Isaac's boxers with his index finger before Isaac steps back further, bumping into the wall behind him.

Scott glances back up at him "-And it felt more comfortable without my clothing." Isaac shrinks as far back into the wall as he can and Scott sighs heavily

"And that 'thing' I believe you were referring to is called a Penis. You should have one as well. It's a large reproductive male organ used to-"

Isaac scoffs. Runs a damp hand through his hair, keeps it there "-I don't understand why you have a 'reproductive male organ' if _you're not_ a _reproductive male!"_

Scott tilts his head slightly to the side, his eyebrows furrowed "Sorry. I'm not following."

"You're a robot right?!"

Scott shrugs and Isaac blinks making sure it actually happened "That's debatable."

Isaac squints "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"According to the Webster's Dictionary programmed into my brain.. A Robot is an automated machine."

Isaac's shoulders twitch upwards "Yeah? So?"

Scott frowns briefly "I don't feel like an automated machine. I feel-"

Isaac maneuvers around him, walking around the bed to glance at the floor. He spots his shirt and jeans crumbled into a ball beside the bed. Grabs his shirt.

"-Well.. you are.. " Isaac says- his eyebrows up- tugging his shirt over his head quickly

"And _that_.." Isaac points at Scott's crotch with one hand as he grabs his jeans with the other. He attempts to tug them on with one hand but eventually gives up pointing and uses both hands to pull up his jeans. Zips them closed.

"_That_ makes no sense to me. I don't even know why I'm talking to you about th-" Isaac cuts himself off. Frowns "-Why are you even here?"

Scott blinks "I told you w-"

"-You shouldn't still be here. _I was supposed to take you back!_ I was supposed to take you back_ yesterday!" _Isaac breathes in and out quickly

"But you were so... " Isaac avoids Scott's eyes " ..And _I_ was _so_.." Isaac shakes his head "Forget it! I'm just gonna take you back and pretend this never happened."

Scott's forehead wrinkles "Take me back? Take me back where?"

Isaac glances over at him "Where you belong.. Scott."

"Don't I belong with you?"

"_No_. _You don't_. I don't even know why you would say th-"

Scott takes a step forward "-Isaac.. ?"

Isaac blows out a breath "Just go put your clothes back on.. Okay?.. and Stay Here!.. I have to go to the library." Isaac says. Begins to walk out of his- now open- bedroom door.

"When will you be back?"

Isaac glances over his shoulder "I don't know. Just.. Just stay here and watch a movie or something."

* * *

When Isaac makes it outside of the Apartment building the sun shines onto his face. He shields his eyes scanning the street for Cora's Orange Volkswagen Beetle.  
Spots it beside a large moving van.

Isaac walks across the street over to it, places his eyes over the Driver's side window and The Window lights up.

"Voice Ac-ti-va-tion Re-quired." The Car says in a monotonous female voice.

"Isaac Lahey."

"Pass-word Re-quired."

"Eight. Nine. One. Nine. Nine. Zero."

Isaac steps back and The Car Door opens on the Driver's side. He slides in, slams the door shut, places his index finger over the ignition and The Car chugs on.

"Would you like to drive man-u-ally?"

"Yes."

The Driver's side window returns to normal and Isaac maneuvers out of the parking spot, taking off hastily down the street.


	3. Chapter 3

Isaac arrives at The Ruth Martin Library forty minutes later.

He parks in an empty parking space near the front entrance of the Library. Grabs his wallet from the glove compartment of Cora's beetle, gets out, slams the door shut and presses his hand against The Door's handle.

"War-ning. This ve-hi-cle will lock if you do not remove your hand in 5...4...3...2...1." The Car makes a clicking sound and Isaac walks away from it.

He rushes through the Library's automatic glass double doors and bounds over to the front desk.

A - seemingly young- blonde woman glances up from her computer, says "Hello. How may I help you?"

Isaac's forehead briefly wrinkles "Ugh.. I need to email someone.. and I know you need a library card to use the computers' here so... " Isaac breathes out a quick laugh

".. I guess I need a library card."

She tucks a few strands of her hair behind her ear "Okay. Do you live nearby?"

"Yes."

"Do you have proof of that? Like an I.D. or mail addressed to you or-"

Isaac opens his wallet, takes out his I.D. and hands it to her. She examines it for a few moments. Eventually she gives it back to him. By the time Isaac puts his I.D. back into his wallet she hands him a pen and one of the many blue forms sitting on her desk.

"Fill that out please."

Isaac fills out the form, hands it back to her and she gives him a transparent library card. "Sign at the bottom please."

He signs at the bottom, gives her the pen back and grabs the library card. He begins to walk towards the row of computers seated a few feet away from the front desk when she says

"Hey.. You look kinda familiar-"

Isaac turns around to face her

"-Have we met before? Like on a.. blind date or something?"

Isaac blinks "Ugh.. I don't think so?"

She smirks then says "You sure?"

Isaac nods quickly "Yeah." Briefly frowns "The last real place I went to was about a month ago and that was a... a funeral so... "

She blinks and He breathes in as the ice in his heart spreads out "..And before that I was.. I was in the.. that hospital a few blocks away from here?"

The color drains from her face as she says "Rosewood Memorial?"

Isaac nods. "Yeah!.. Yeah that's it. I was there for my fi-" Isaac frowns at himself, clears his throat. "-my _former_ fiancé and she.. she passed away."

She glances away "Oh." Mutters "Oh God." through her teeth a minute later looking back up at him.

"It's no big deal. I'm.. I'm getting over it." Isaac smiles after -more teeth than grin- and her forehead wrinkles.

"No I just... I know where I've seen you before now." She says with a twinge of something that sounds very similar to pity.

"Yeah?" Isaac bursts out, unable to stop himself.

"Um... I... I volunteer _here_ sometimes but.. mostly I volunteer at Rosewood."

"Rosewood Memorial?" Isaac asks, though he can already guess her answer.

"Yeah." She replies quietly.

"I don't remember seeing you there." Isaac says, averting his eyes.

"You were kind of.. out of it when I came in to change the sheets."

Isaac nods, his vision blurry "Oh. That must have been after the.. Yeah. I guess that makes sense." Isaac frowns "Well.. I've got stuff I need to do right now so-"

"-I know this is probably in poor taste but.. um.. " Isaac glances back over at her the moment she squeezes her eyes shut. She opens them again a few seconds later, breathes

".. I-I'm Erica.. " She clears her throat "Erica Reyes.. and if you.. ever wanted.. to... " Erica smiles weakly "go like.. out to a 'real place' sometime.. um.. I.. could give you my number.."

Isaac blinks, his eyebrows slightly raised

".. O-or you could give me your number and.. and we could get set that.. up.."

Isaac stares at her. She shrugs. " ..You have to get out sometime don't you?"

Isaac nods "Yeah. You're right-" She begins to smile "-That was in poor taste." Her smile withers away.

He breathes out, starts to say something else but shakes his head instead and walks away.

Isaac sits down at the first computer he sees. Swipes his card over the screen and it lights up. Eventually he settles into his chair and logs onto his Yahoo Email Account.

_To Lyd1aMart!n _  
_Subject TT1 Malfunction_

_Hello my name is Isaac Lahey and I would like to return the 5C0-TT1 gift. Please contact me as soon as possible at this email address or call me. _  
_My phone number is (212) 537-3641._

Isaac glances over it then clicks send with his mouse.

*

* * *

He stays there, surfing the internet for 'human like robots' (to no avail) and occasionally refreshing his email account, until 9:00 P.M. when the Library closes.  
Then, he heads home.

*

* * *

Isaac unlocks the front door.

"_Don't engage_." "I'm _eating_ at the dinner table. They're the ones fucking." The TV blares.

Once inside the dimly lit apartment Isaac turns around, closing and locking the open door. He hears quiet laughter behind him, frowns. Then turns back around, starts to say something as he walks over to the couch but stills when he finally reaches it. He spots a- vaguely familiar - woman's head lying against Scott's (now) clothed thighs on the right side of the couch. While the rest of her body stretches out over the left side of the couch.

"Ugh.. Hello?" He says. She turns her head away from the TV to glance over at him, grins. Scott pauses the movie.

"Oh! You must be the roommate! I'm Allison." She says with her hand over her heart. Isaac blinks. Eventually she stands up, her short honey brown hair slightly askew.

"I just moved in across the hall and.. I needed some scissors.." She smirks briefly at Scott. Scott smiles back.

".. and this one.." She continues, glancing back at Isaac as she motions her thumb in Scott's direction "gallantly helped me out."

Allison grins and Isaac continues to stare at her in silence, his eyebrows furrowed.

"He was watching Shawshank when he gave me the scissors and.. Shawshank is literally my favorite movie in the world so.. " Allison chuckles " ..I just _had_ to watch it with him."

Isaac blinks, a vague sense of unease settling in the pit of his stomach.

"And then it ended and.. he suggested watching another one.. and here we are... _seven_ odd hours later watching.. " Allison looks over at Scott then "What's this one called again?"

"Going The Distance." Scott replies, grinning.

Allison's eyes meet up with Isaac's again "What he said." Allison's grin fades as the silence in the room deepens "-You're not much of a.. talker are you?"

Isaac squints and Allison shrugs "But that's cool. I know tons of people that-"

"-Have we met before?" Isaac asks with a frown. Scott glances between them both, his forehead wrinkling.

"Um.. Huh?"

"Have we met before?" Isaac pales when she doesn't respond "You wouldn't happen to work at Rosewood Memorial.. Hospital would you?"

She opens her mouth. Closes it.

"Because that would just make this day the-"

Allison shakes her head. "-No.. my twin sister Bess does though. You probably saw her there instead of me."

"Oh." Isaac says, his shoulders sagging.

"Her hair's kinda darker than mine. Longer. She has bangs." Allison chuckles as Isaac stares at her "Any of this ringing a bell?"

Isaac nods after a moment "Actually.. _yeah._ Yeah. Sorry."

"It's okay. This used to happen all the time when we were in high school together.. "

Allison sighs "and I guess now that we live in the same state again it'll start happening again but.. I don't know-" Allison smiles briefly and Scott's forehead wrinkles again.

"-I've made peace with it."

Isaac glances over at Scott then and soon the room becomes silent. After a few minutes pass Allison clears her throat and says

"_Okay then._ It looks like you two need to talk so... I'm gonna go." She starts to head over to the door then turns back around glancing at Scott

"Bye Scott. Hope I see you around sometime."

Scott blushes, Isaac squints and Scott says "Bye."

As soon as Allison leaves Isaac locks the door and stares pointedly at Scott.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Scott asks after a couple seconds of silence.

"Scott _what the hell?" _Isaac breathes out quietly.

"What?"

Isaac steps towards the couch, seems to reconsider it and steps back, his blue eyes suddenly weary as he crosses his arms "You can't just invite strangers into the _apartment."_

Scott smirks then says "She's not a stranger. I introduced myself.. she introduced herself and.. we became acquainted."

Isaac uncrosses his arms, walks over to Scott "Did you tell her you were a.."

"-No." Scott says avoiding Isaac's eyes.

"Scott!"

Scott looks up at him "_I didn't_."

Isaac smiles without feeling, nods. "Okay. _Whatever._ Next time just don't let people _I_ don't know into the-"

"-Next time? Does that mean you're not taking me back?"

Isaac breathes out, sits on the couch resting his head against the top of it and closes his eyes

"I can't take you back until this L-Y-D-1-A person returns my email or calls me so... For now I guess you're staying here." Isaac lifts his head, opens his eyes  
"But no more nudity! I'll find you some pajamas to wear or something.. "

Scott beams "Alright."

"And no more going into my room while I'm asleep!"

"Okay."

Isaac sighs, closing his eyes and resting his head against the couch again "Okay. Good."

Isaac hears the movie blare on again before he dozes off. 

* * *

Isaac startles awake. Yawns. Stretches his arms out briefly and glances over at Scott who's watching TV- seconds away from collapsing. Isaac places a hand on Scott's arm.  
Scott flinches.

"You look.. tired. Are you tired?"

Scott shrugs and Isaac sighs, shakes his head and stands up. Scott pauses the movie.

"Are you going to sleep?"

Isaac yawns "Yeah but not now.. I'll be right back."

He walks into his bedroom, comes back into the living room five minutes later and throws Scott a pair of pajamas, a pillow and a bright red cover. Scott throws back the pajama shirt

"These are fine." He says, taking off his pants and putting on the pajama bottoms. Isaac averts his eyes

"Okay. I'm gonna go to sleep now.. Goodnight."

Before he can move an inch, Scott's hugging him. When Scott releases him Isaac glances over at Scott, sighs.

"Where's your shirt?" Isaac asks, making a face.

"You said no nudity.. and I'm not.. _nude_."

Isaac runs a hand through his hair, shakes his head and leaves the room. Hears Scott say "Goodnight." before he shuts his bedroom door.


End file.
